


Some Kind of Perspective

by RikaNeedsCoffee



Series: Some People are Stupid [3]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Fluff, High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25142014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikaNeedsCoffee/pseuds/RikaNeedsCoffee
Summary: The relationship between Akabane Karma and Asano Gakushuu, told from five different external perspectives.
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Asano Gakushuu
Series: Some People are Stupid [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663270
Comments: 17
Kudos: 235





	Some Kind of Perspective

**Author's Note:**

> PART 3 LET'S GO!! hehe i wanted to try something a little bit more holistic this time around, and I warn you, this is all just tooth-rotting fluff. I guess some parts of it are mildly angsty, but like, extremely diluted angst. The kind that's 1% angst and 99% fluff. Hope you all enjoy :DD

**I. Ren Sakakibara**

Don't get him wrong; he _loves_ that Gakushuu's gotten himself a boyfriend. It certainly helps his cantankerous friend loosen up, makes the Student Council President less prone to stress than normal circumstances would warrant, and generally allows Gakushuu to be more childish and carefree. That's all great, and Ren's all for it.

All that being said, though, the problem is that said boyfriend happens to be the demonic red nuisance they'd been trying to slay for the better part of their time in Kunugigaoka, and the same annoying asshole who put a bento in Ren's locker under the guise of being one of his fans, only for Ren to stuff his mouth with wasabi-dipped sausage rolls and end up in the clinic with his hand clutched at his stomach.

When he brings it up to Gakushuu as they walk towards the library on a Thurdsday after classes have just ended, he's met with, "Believe me, if I knew how to make him stop, I would have by now."

To prove his point, he grabs a small plastic container full of incredibly tiny red and green peppers out from his school bag. "I found these in my own lunchbox the other day; fortunately, the idiot didn't have the impulse control to properly hide his laughter. I caught him snorting and immediately figured something was up."

Ren hums, somewhere between pity and relief, and as they reach the library he tells Gakushuu, "If nothing else, at least he keeps you on your feet."

It's about 5:45 when they start finishing up, closing books and notebooks and tidying up the table they'd reserved, when Gakushuu's phone begins to ding in an annoying yet consistent pace. One comes just as another ends, and Ren has to ask, "Why don't you have your phone on silent?"

"Because," Gakushuu says, teeth gritting as he picks his phone up to check the messages. "People usually know not to message me unless it's a dire situation, and even then, they'd know better than to do it in rapid succession."

"Mhm," Ren says, slinging his bag over his shoulder and saying, "I'm gonna go ahead and assume that Akabane doesn't fall under this category of 'people'?"

Gakushuu takes quite a while to respond, scrolling down what's likely dozens of messages until he finally reaches the bottom and shoots back a reply of his own. When he finally does say something, they're both getting up from their seats, poised to leave.

"Of course he doesn't," Gakushuu assures. "He fits somewhere between 'idiot' and 'demon', on a spectrum so far-removed from humanity that it's a spectacle how he can manage to stand under sunlight without catching on fire."

Ren doesn't think he's ever going to understand the way the two of them work. "You two have an odd way of flirting." 

Gakushuu stops at that, a fraction of a second, but enough for Ren to notice; then, he says, in a way that is strangely ungraceful for Gakushuu Asano, "I'm not really trying to. I don't know how you got that out of me comparing him to a demon."

"It's the way you say it," Ren informs. "It's just-- different from how you used to talk about him. Like, you know he's still trouble but can't help being fond of him now anyways?"

Ren takes a quick, unsure glance at Gakushuu, because sure they've grown exceedingly closer in the time following the older Asano's resignation from Kunugigaoka, but there are still certain lines Ren doesn't know if he's allowed to cross, and it certainly doesn't help how much a wildcard of a topic Karma Akabane can be.

When the quiet lasts for almost a couple of minutes, Ren feels the need to fill it, because he's never really sure what goes on in Gakushuu's head when he gets silent like this for long enough periods of time.

"Hey, it's almost dinnertime. Wanna eat out?"

"It's 6PM," Gakushuu replies, yet still continues with, "...but sure."

The diner they end up at is small and quaint in a way that feels cozy rather than cramped. It mostly only served burgers, but the prices were more than reasonable, so they find themselves settling in. As they wait for their food, Gakushuu's phone begins its perpetual dinging once again.

"Hey, Ren, this is gonna be a weird request," Gakushuu starts right after reading the message, and that surprises Ren a bit, "But could you take a picture with me and the food later?"

"Uh... yeah, sure?" Ren knows his surprise and confusion aren't at all well-hidden, and he badly wants to ask what the picture is for considering how out of character it would be for Gakushuu to want a picture, but, again, would that be crossing a line he isn't meant to? 

"Thanks," Gakushuu replies, considerably taut.

The food takes a little longer than they'd both expected, and the silence becomes incredibly thick. Ren's still undeniably perplexed by the request, and it must show, because eventually Gakushuu sighs and tells him, "It would be okay, you know, if you asked me what it's about. You're my best friend, after all."

Exclamation points ring all around Ren's head.

 _Okay_ , he thinks, _that's not a very fair bombshell to drop on me, especially not when you tried to break my arm after I tried giving you a hug back in eighth grade because I found you crying under the staircase._

Still, though, Ren takes any chance he can get, so he grabs the offer almost immediately. "Alright... why do you want me to take a picture of you with the food?"

"Karma's been texting me since 8th period, when he found out that I skipped lunch today. The unrelenting number of texts have all been him trying to get me to eat." Gakushuu rolls his eyes, but it's softened by the same fondness his tone had held only minutes prior. "I tried telling him I'm about to eat now, but he says he wants proof."

"Ah," Ren says, mulling it all over. He's exceedingly honest when he says, "Well, I can hardly blame him. I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point before, you've lied about having eaten just to appease someone."

Gakushuu concedes that that's fair, and the food eventually arrives. A picture is taken, as promised, and Gakushuu sends it to Karma before they both dig in. This time, when the phone begins dinging over and over again, Ren can't even bother being annoyed anymore.

He'll never claim to understand their relationship, or even what Gakushuu sees in Akabane, but he accepts it all the same. After all, Ren's always going to approve of someone who forces Gakushuu to take care of himself.

* * *

**II. Rio Nakamura**

If she were to be completely honest, Rio doesn't really think they'll last too long. She isn't trying to be mean, really! It was just that... well, when she and Karma had tried to set fireworks off in the park once, Karma had commented, "Man, Gakushuu would never let me hear the end of it if he saw me doing this!", and that had pulled a frown on Rio's face that even she hadn't expected.

A security guard had almost caught them that day, but that's a story for another time. Right now, she's tagging along on one of their dates, in the hopes that she gets some sort of blackmail out of it, but so far it's been mind-numbingly boring, what with them just going around looking for the exact brand of glue stick that Asano needs.

Rio's been waiting for about five minutes outside the second store they've tried looking in. She attempts to be subtle when she glances to her right, where Karma is standing next to her, but he catches her stare nonetheless.

"I have no idea what you were expecting. I literally told you that we're probably just gonna buy something, eat, then leave," he tells her, following by sticking his tongue out at her. Ever one to rise to a challenge, Rio sticks her tongue out back, matching him in immaturity, and surely they look incredibly silly, but it works out for them.

"Yeah, but--" Rio attempts, and finds that he's absolutely right. Still, she refuses to back down. "I don't know, _you're_ here. I expected there to be some sort of explosion involved somewhere by virtue of that alone."

Karma shrugs. "Who knows? I have a matchbox in my pocket; we could certainly try to trigger the sprinkler system in the mall."

Rio lights up a bit at that, not really because she'd be dumb enough to attempt Karma's suggestion, but rather because she wants to see if she could somehow commit a small crime and pin the blame on the barbeque-stall owner whose products had gotten her food-poisoning last week. She's just about to nod her head when she hears a voice, and she dims significantly.

"You're not going to do that," Asano says, exiting the store with noticeably empty hands, "because there's no blind spot on the security cameras here, and there are three guards surrounding the area. I don't condone crimes that are bound to get caught."

"Aww, boo; who said we'd get caught? We could just say it was an accident," Karma says, smirking.

"And, c'mon," Rio adds airily, casual and light even with Gakushuu Asano himself, "There's one crook stall that got me food poisoning last week. I know for sure he did it on purpose, so why can't we try to enact a petty revenge? It'll be for the good of everyone!"

Karma huffs out a laugh at that, and surprisingly so does Asano. They start walking then, headed towards the next store still in search of this elusive brand of glue stick that Asano needs, and Asano says, "Okay, first of all-- you knew he gave you a substandard product and you _still_ ate it?"

Rio rolls her eyes as though annoyed, although on the inside she enjoys that Asano seems to partake in the banter. "I already paid! What was I supposed to do, _starve_? Is that what you'd prefer?! God, Asano, you wound me."

She says it all the way she says everything else; casual, fun, so blatantly dramatized, and it all pays off when Asano snorts it a fit of what she assumes is both exasperation and amusement.

"I'm ever so sorry to offend you," he says, clearly sarcastic and scrunching his nose in a way Rio might find cute if not for the fact that this was the boy who'd once been known to her only as another obstacle in E-Class's path. He continues, "Shall I buy you a present for your troubles, then? A small token of my remorse."

Now that certainly makes Rio's eyes shine. Grin stretching wider by the second, she hooks her arm around his and drags him forward to walk with her. "Attaboy! That's definitely one way to get on my good side."

"Hey, no fair!" Karma quips from behind them, surely pouting but obviously not actually upset. "I don't get gifts from you when you say mean things to me!"

"Yes," Asano says, allowing himself to be dragged into Rio's pace. "Because half the time you deserve it."

"What about the other half?"

Asano snorts then, and Rio doesn't think she'll ever completely get over the way Asano smirks, eyes half-lidded as he turns back and stares Karma dead in the eye, saying, "Do you really need gifts from me? You're fucking _dating_ me. What's a better gift than that?"

It's so bizarre and uncharacteristic hearing it from someone who Rio had set up in her mind to be some sort of emotionless steel robot, and it rips a laugh right out of her throat, high and gleeful.

Karma laughs along with her too, a chuckle low and weak, but clearly full of amusement. Asano ends up shushing them both. "Come on, now. I refuse to believe what I said was that funny."

And, well, Rio _agrees_. What Asano had just said was, by no means, a new height of humorous ingenuity, but it was just-- exhilirating? Stupefying? Absolutely mind-boggling to hear from Gakushuu fucking Asano?

"It wasn't," Rio admits to him, finally settling down. Her arm is still hooked around his, and she says, "But I really didn't see it coming. You see, in my head, you're kind of this cartoonishly serious villain who spends his free time doing some boring shit like, uh... taxes."

Karma snorts at that, but Asano frowns. "Ah, I suppose I have committed many atrocities regarding your previous class in Kunugigaoka."

A trickle of regret and subdued guilt spreads around Rio's chest upon hearing that. She wasn't trying to be malicious, and she only used the word 'villain' because her head wasn't capable of coming up with another noun under the time pressure. Still, Asano continues, "I suppose it would only be appropriate for me to apologize."

He shakes himself off of her grip, and looks at her face with an expression that toes the line between regretful and uncertain, and isn't that the oddest combination one could possibly see on Gakushuu Asano's face? 

"I'm sorry," he tells her, and it's incredibly palpable how sincere he's being. It almost makes Rio uncomfortable. "For... well, everything. For all the times I've antagonised you in the past. I'd like to think I've grown since those times, but I must still be held accountable for them."

Well, _shit_. Rio is in awe, and that's no small thing, especially when one considers how she's had a 3 foot tall creature for a teacher, and a middle school class that specializes in assassination. She openly gapes, then turns to stare at Karma, who looks back at her expectantly, waiting for her response.

She rubs the nape of her neck. "Fuck, dude. You really just grabbed me by the ankles and swung me onto a surface that I never thought I'd land on, huh?"

Asano says nothing, does nothing except for huff, mildly amused at her strange metaphor, so Rio takes that as a sign to keep going. "I'm... well, listen. I don't really deal much by the way of long term grudges. That's not to say that you didn't treat us like shit, because you _did_ , but--" 

Rio stops herself there, when she realizes she isn't much good at heavy situations like this one. Her face probably looks very uncomfortable, which would be apt considering that's how she feels. She takes a helpless glance at Karma again, who is useless, of _fucking_ course, but she sighs, looking back at Asano, and plasters a smile onto her face.

"How about this?" she offers. "You help me take revenge on the dude who scammed me and we'll call it even."

The grin Asano gives her upon hearing that is lopsided, but clearly pleased. She hooks her arm around his again as he tells her about their possible options. There's filing a lawsuit, for one, but that's too official for Rio's taste, so he suggests something else. He doesn't unlock their arms until they get to the next store, and he has to go inside to check.

This time, as Rio and Karma wait outside, he asks her, "Still bored?"

She can hardly agree to that sentiment, seeing as her walk with Asano consisted with plans of how they could bring down a sketchy establishment. One day, when she eventually overthrows the government, she thinks Asano will definitely be one of the first people she recruits to join her.

"Not quite," she says, giving Karma a fiendish grin that would put his own to shame. Then, because she isn't like Karma or Asano-- people who couldn't stamp down their pride no matter how much they tried to-- she informs him, "I was wrong, by the way."

"Hm?"

"I thought... well. I thought you and Asano wouldn't last because he'd be too stuck up for you." Then, she pokes at his shoulder and whispers conspiratorially, "Now, though, I _know_ you guys won't last."

Where the beginning of a small, fond smile was about to emerge, Karma now shoots her a withering stare, which she laughs at.

"And, now I know it'll be because he's too good for you," she tells him, and watches as his face bursts into laughter.

"Well, _damn_ , Rio," he says, grin wide and somehow relieved, and it's nice to know that he cares what she thinks of his boyfriend, Rio muses at the back of her mind. 

She's always known Karma would have at least the smallest anxieties about his tentative little relationship with who had once been one of their greatest common hindrances, but, if nothing else, Rio's learned that Asano was quite far from who he had been in middle school.

Her smile is soft tiny, almost secretive, when Karma tells her, "I couldn't agree with you more."

* * *

**III. Gakuho Asano**

He hardly ever sees Gakushuu smile.

As a parent, he knows deeply just how much of that is to be blamed on him. He's familiar with the concept of failure, not by experience, but rather by seeing the way others dealt with its consequences. He doesn't usually experience failure, but when he does, it usually leaves him breathless in its wake.

That's precisely how Gakuho will describe what having dinner with Gakushuu is like, these days. He's breathless, and unsure of what to do, because this is an issue that's been longtime coming, and yet somehow, for all of his ability at foresight, he'd never prepared a sound strategy for it.

Ever since his deft demotion from his position as the principal of Kunugigaoka, he's had more time on his hands to figure out what to do with. Usually, he and Gakushuu hardly ever interact even when at home, due to how intensively busy they both often were, but now that they both seem to have the time to do it, it's become something of a tradition for Gakuho to join his son for dinner.

It's quiet and frigid, and the atmosphere is never anything short of increasingly awkward, up until the day that Gakuho decides to make small talk, and 'increasingly awkward' turns into 'fiercely uncomfortable'.

Gakushuu gapes just a little bit, and Gakuho would be reminding him to mind his manners if not for the fact that he also thinks of it as a fair reaction to him asking, "So, how was your day at school?"

Of course, if nothing else, Asanos are surely known to be graceful in every field, and with socializing being one of those fields, it doesn't take long for Gakushuu to gather himself.

"It was reasonably challenging, I suppose," he says mildly, and he takes another bite of his dinner before proceeding to stare back at Gakuho with what looks to be both suspicion and concern.

Gakuho would be offended by that stare had Gakushuu not been raised to be smarter than to trust new and different sorts of occurences, and by _God_ was this a new occurence. 

"Nothing you couldn't handle, though, I assume?" Gakuho tries to continue, and Gakushuu does his part and takes the response in stride.

"Certainly. I am, after all, your son," Gakushuu replies, eyes downcast, as though mulling over the current situation he was in. Still, Gakuho smiles at the response he gets, slight as that smile may be.

Gakushuu, noticeably, does not match this smile, and instead grits his teeth. It's a very uncanny ability to be able to recognize a reflex so minscule, Gakuho supposes, but then again he prides himself in all the talents he gains over the years no matter how uncanny, so he can hardly complain about that.

No, what he _can_ complain about, though, is how much it bothers him how little Gakushuu smiles at home. His son is charismatic, there's nothing to doubt about that, as evidenced by how easily he's managed to charm his peers at school, and within Gakushuu's repertoire of charisma is the smile he flashes at any person he interacts with throughout the day. It seemed, however, that the moment he got home, all that charisma is cranked to zero, and Gakuho sits down for dinner in front of a neutral-faced Gakushuu.

What's even more bothersome is the fact that Gakuho is hardly at any position to complain, because he's quite aware of the fact that the hostile environment within their household is his own doing anyways, so this is simply the just reward he's receiving. Even so, he's trying to compensate for all the shit he's had to put his son through in the past; shouldn't that effort count for something?

 _Be reasonable_ , Gakuho tells himself at dinner on Thursday. _Effort never ensures you success. You'd be lucky to have Gakushuu even be the one to start a conversation with you._

Even so, he's obstinate by nature-- it's a trait that he's passed down to his son-- and so he never gives up on having conversations over dinner. Tonight, he tries for something less about his son's academic pursuits, since, for one thing, that way of conversation was getting quite old, and for another, there isn't really going to come a time where Gakushuu does badly on his academics, is there?

"I noticed," he attempts, and Gakushuu makes eye contact with him once he speaks. "That you came back home with a stain on the side of your uniform."

Gakushuu visibly scowls, likely having taken that as criticism, so Gakuho, internally wincing at how he's managed to mess his son up this badly, is quick to add, "I don't mean to be rude. I was merely curious... surely there's a story behind it?"

"Oh," Gakushuu says, in a way that's considerably obtuse for him. "Well. It's just strawberry soda."

"Mhm," Gakuho implores, because there are multiple questions in his mind that could definitely be answered if Gakushuu just gave further context. Why Gakushuu would _have_ strawberry soda, or how it had gotten spilled, and so on.

Gakushuu looks somewhat surprised that he's being encouraged to recount a story, and if for nothing else, Gakuho badly wants this to mend this broken thing he has with his child, so he goes the extra mile and says, "So how did this happen? Spare me no gory detail, if you wouldn't mind."

It takes a long moment's hesitation before Gakushuu tells him that, no, he doesn't mind, after which he jumps into what had happened over lunch time earlier. Apparently, Akabane Karma had been wanting to try out all of the drinks that were accesible within the newly installed vending machine just a small distance away from their class.

"The thing is, he only remembered wanting to do that 5 minutes before class was about to start again," Gakushuu explains, and it makes Gakuho's chest tighten less how Gakushuu seems to be lighting up, little by little. "So instead of taking my entirely more practical solution of just doing it later, when we're dismissed or something, he decides that the best course of action would be to combine all of the drinks into one massive Franken-beverage."

Gakuho nods, and his son continues, "Naturally, he manages to mess it up after a just a minute. He had all the drinks layed out in front of him but then knocked over the strawberry soda, since the table was chock-full of cups."

"And then the soda landed on you?"

It is at this moment that Gakuho is struck by the way Gakushuu's lips twitch. His son is almost... bashful as he admits, "Actually, it's even worse. He seemed to have had the reflexes to catch the cup, so he _did_ , and amazingly no soda was spilled up until the point where he--"

Gakushuu stops then, and a small chuckle erupts from his throat before he can attempt to smother it. 

"I'm sorry," he says, clearing his throat. Gakuho frowns, deep and bothered, because it was nice to see Gakushuu laugh. It shouldn't be surprising that he enjoys seeing his son happy, and yet here they were anyways, and it felt godawful.

"You don't have to be sorry," Gakuho informs him, polite and detached, but bordering on concerned nonetheless. "It's nice to see you enjoy yourself."

"...right," Gakushuu says, evidently unsure, but then he regains his composure in a flash and finishes his story. "Anyways, he caught it, but he wasn't expecting to catch it, so he proudly decided to celebrate his achievement by showing me the still-filled cup. This is about the time where he slips on his own foot and spills the drink onto me in the process."

As composed as Gakushuu forces himself to be, Gakuho can still see the almost-crinkle at the sides of his eyes, along with the way the edges of his lips are turned just the slightest bit upwards. Gakuho sighs. "Well, I'm glad to know that there were no severe damages."

Gakushuu snorts, saying, "You can say that to the bruise Karma got from where I punched him in the arm for ruining my uniform."

Gakuho hums upon hearing that, acknowledging but not judging. The rest of their dinner goes on peacefully-- almost too quiet for Gakuho's taste, but well, progress was progress, and a smile during dinnertime was certainly a huge leap when compared to the previous status quo of barely even seeing each other for meals.

The pair of them are certainly a long way's away from being a fully-functional father and son, but Gakuho supposes this was enough of a start. If nothing else, he's very pleased to see that his son has found himself someone who makes him happier, even though it'll be decades before he'll ever admit that.

* * *

**IV. Nagisa Shiota**

The pair of them hadn't hung out in _ages_. In the middle of Akari having needed Nagisa to help her with a few interviews, Karma having barely any sense of time management, and the past week being exam season, it wouldn't really be hard to figure out why.

Still, when Nagisa sits down on the nice, cushioned seat next to Karma, handing him his popcorn and soda just before the movie is about to start, he feels oddly giddy about it. Karma apparently feels the same, if him saying, "Man, I haven't seen you in fucking decades. Is it weird that I wanna hug you?" Is anything to go by.

Nagisa laughs at that, thinking that no, it wouldn't be weird since Karma has always been the more affectionate of the two of them anyways, but what he says instead is, "I wouldn't really mind either way."

Karma makes a noise of acknowledgement before saying, "I'll hold you to that." And then his eyes are back on the screen.

The movie starts, and it's this overtly edited, cheesy summer film that's easy to watch even when your mind is turned off. The plot is simple-- some kid finds a robot dog and has to keep it safe from all the aliens that are after it, all while keeping the dog a secret from everyone he knows-- and Nagisa's mind wanders more than once while the film goes on.

One such example of this would be when Karma suddenly jerks in shock at the sudden zap of lightning that the kid creates when it's revealed that he got powers from Robot Dog, and, in the process, spills some of his popcorn over. Nagisa doesn't particularly care for the events in the movie, but what does surprise him is how, where his best friend Karma Akabane would usually leave the food on the ground, this Karma Akabane makes an effort to pick up the fallen popcorn and put it in his empty soda cup.

Nagisa says nothing about this, his shock being easy to subdue since, well, he's seen many strange things in his life, so this shouldn't really phase him at all. It _does_ , though, and it remains in his mind even when Karma is running his mouth off about the movie right after they leave the mall and start walking home.

"--and what the hell even was with that whole asteroid subplot? I mean, sure you need a big finale to compensate for the bad writing and awful dialogue, but there were _aliens_. They couldn't have just turned out to be evil?"

Nagisa nods, saying nothing, because they have a silent agreement that they watch bad movies for the sake of having more to talk about. This is the routine, after all, having been tried and true for the past few years of their friendship, and Nagisa can't complain. It's fun listening to Karma rant, and it's comfortable up until the point when some guy bumps into Karma and cuts him off mid-sentence.

"Watch where you're fucking going," the guy grumbles out, and it's clear he's in a bad mood, but it was still him who bumped into Karma, not the other way around.

Nagisa already knows this is going to turn into a shistorm, because this isn't a scenario that he hasn't seen before. What makes it worse is that they've already left the mall, meaning Karma is very much free to do what he wants given how few witnesses there are around them.

"Aww, what's wrong, big guy?" Karma says, face splitting into a dangerously-charged grin that Nagisa knows means he's ready for a fight. Even if he can't see them from where they're hidden in Karma's pockets, Nagisa knows his fingers are twitching. "Lemme take a guess... you got dumped and that's why you're so wound up?"

Ir's a kniwn fact that Karma is intelligent, and Nagisa can't even begin to piece together how Karma figured that one out, but he seems to be right on the money. The Guy's frown deepens, brows crushing together as he lets out a sound between a growl and a huff, and without any warning his fist makes a beeline for Karma's jaw.

For what it's worth, Nagisa has all the faith in the world that Karma's coming out of this unscathed, but he's still worried. It's been weeks, at least, since Karma's gotten into a streetbrawl, and it's unfortunate that that streak has to be broken just because some douchebag doesn't know how to deal with his heartbreak.

Just as the Guy's fist is about to connect with Karma's face, Karma catches it and, in one swift motion, brings the Guy down in graceful yet evidently lethal hold. The Guy is on his belly, and Karma is straddling him from behind, leaning close and whispering something that Nagisa isn't quite sharp-eared enough to catch.

Then, just as Nagisa thinks to go nearer to them and break it up, something happens, and it isn't really a miracle, but it's a near thing. Karma takes his hands off of the Guy, and, ever so carefully, gets off of him. Of course, it wouldn't be Karma if he didn't add it one last display of obnoxiousness, so he spits at the guy for good measure before walking over to Nagisa.

The two of them don't speak until they're at least a block away from the place of incident, and then Nagisa has to say, "So... you didn't beat him up."

Generally speaking, Nagisa isn't a judgemental person; in fact, it's almost a hallmark of their friendship how much Nagisa can stand to tolerate before he even thinks about complaining. That said, when he voices his observation to Karma, he's met with a wary, "...yes."

They're silent again for a bit, and it isn't really odd for them. Their time spent with each other ranges anywhere from sitting on Karma's couch playing video games without speaking, to having wild discussions over topics as stupid as pineapple on pizza. It isn't weird, and either way, Nagisa is good at asking questions even without voicing them out.

He takes a glance at Karma, gentle but steady, and the other boy has the instinct to look back at him. Karma's hands are back in his pockets, and Nagisa makes sure to give him a smile, if slightly, as though saying that, hey, he isn't going to judge either way, he's just curious. Karma eventually speaks up, minutes later.

"Gakushuu doesn't like me getting into fights."

 _Ah._ Well, Nagisa has no issue with that, but it's too simplistic, and he knows by now how much effort Karma takes to be precise when he wants to be, so Nagisa gives him the few moments he needs to find his footing. It wasn't like they were in any rush, anyways; it was hardly even 6PM.

At long last, Karma huffs out a breath and says, "And... that's a bit hypocritical, coming from him, I know, considering his moral compass is askew at best, but I got into a fistfight with an upperclassman a few weeks ago, and Gakushuu had to diffuse the situation. He's never been one for physical violence anyways, but it's worse when he has to deal with them on top of all the other shit he's decided to take on."

"Mhm," Nagisa prompts.

"Later, when we were alone at the SC meeting room, we had a lengthy discussion on the concept of compromise, and he told me that he can't actively stop me from getting into trouble, or anything-- won't even try to, actually-- but it would be nice if, you know, I refrained from time to time."

There's a long pause after that, becase Nagisa, for probably the first time, isn't really sure what to say about that. He can't say "that's good", because that would imply that, what? Karma hadn't been good before? Admittedly, Nagisa concedes that he could have been better but... and _anyways_ , he can't really just hum in acknowledgement and leave it at that, because it's apparent that it took a lot out of Karma to admit that, and Nagisa doesn't want to undermine the value of the admission.

"He's not... just to be clear, I'm not being put on a leash here or anything. Gakushuu explicitly told me that he's never going to try to stop me, but, he'd appreciate it if I held back a bit. I don't particularly enjoy it, but--"

Karma cuts himself short there, and a question of 'So why do you do it, then?' Hangs heavy in the air. Nagisa doesn't verbalise it, doesn't have to, really, but he absently mulls over what he just heard. He supposes love can change people, and that's a concept old as time, but this just felt surprisingly mature for someone like Karma, and that isn't him trying to say that his best friend is a lost cause, but going by the track record, Karma has chosen to face every possible chance at a fight head on. Nagisa still shudders, sometimes, when thinking back to the match between them that was meant to decide Koro-sensei's fate.

"It wouldn't be right to say," Karma finally decides to add after a long while of Nagisa not responding, "that I don't want to make life difficult for him, because anyone and everyone knows there's no way that's true. Our rivalry, and the way we challenge each other-- that's kind of the foundation of our relationship, isn't it?"

It's a rhetorical question, Nagisa knows as much, but a small _yeah_ still slips out of his mouth. He'd never really had an opinion on it, to be frank, because when Karma had told him without really _telling_ him how he'd felt for Asano all those months ago in the same mall, Nagisa had simply figured-- if this is what makes Karma happy then there's no room to complain, right? But now that it's been brought to light just how much Asano affects Karma... well, it would certainly behoove Nagisa to look more critically at this, wouldn't it?

It isn't as though he'd had a particularly bad opinion of Asano to begin with-- at least, not compared to E Class as a collective, anyways-- but Nagisa will still admit that some part of him holds quite a fair amount of suspicion. Half the time, he chalks Asano's questionable behavior to being the result of how his father had raised him, and it's certainly no excuse, but Nagisa has also had negative experiences regarding a parent, and he can't help his tendency to believe in Asano more than common sense would dictate because of it.

"Mind you, he _is_ challenging, and I'm not just talking about academics. We can hardly ever agree on anything, and his less than pleasant attributes line up badly with mine, but, uh."

Karma, Nagisa can tell, doesn't actually know where he's going with this spiel. It's fortunate, then, that Nagisa knows Karma better than he knows himself, and understands in a second what's going on. He offers Karma a smile, this time wider and more obvious, and he stops walking for a bit, making Karma stop as well.

"You know," Nagisa tells him, nonchalant tone betraying how serious he is when saying this. "You don't have to prove anything to me. The way I see it, if you like him, and he likes you, those minor disturbances are gonna work themselves out somehow."

Nagisa knows, he _knows_ , that Karma is, in his own convoluted way, asking for his approval. Karma still looks unsure, like he wants to disagree and tell Nagisa that no, he certainly _does_ have something to prove, and Nagisa almost breaks into a laugh upon seeing the confusion in Karma's face. It wasn't an expression he often saw, and he relishes in it for a bit before finally deciding to state his conclusion.

"I never disliked Asano, just so you know." Nagisa hums a bit, before, "And, well... after seeing how he influences you, I'm in no position to disapprove of anything, to be honest."

There's a pregnant pause, daunting and charged, before it's diffused by an almost nervously relieved bark of laughter from Karma. " _God_ , you're such a mom."

Nagisa has to laugh at that too, conceding, "Well, with Akari, Nakamura, and Itona being most of your other friends, it's easy to see how that duty falls to me, doesn't it?"

"What about Okuda?"

"She'd be good at it, but it's too much work." Nagisa scrunches his nose. In a grave tone, he tells Karma, "We wouldn't want to bother such a kind soul."

"We wouldn't," Karma nods, eyes still crinkling at the edges from how much he's smiling. Unbidden, he follows up with, "Thanks. Like, a lot."

Nagisa would be startled by such a genuine confession, but he's long since known Karma's capacity to be sincere, has long since been sure of it and has, on many occassions, been on the receiving end of it, so he simply acknowledges it by saying, "Is this about the time where you cash in on the hug you talked about earlier?"

Karma snorts, pulling Nagisa close and wrapping an arm around his shoulder in a sort of half hug. Nagisa pats him on the back.

They eventually decide to stop by a Tonkatsu store near Nagisa's neighbourhood, and it's fascinating how, even without Asano's physical presence, Nagisa can still see all the ways he's clearly stuck with Karma. He can see it in how Karma crumples his chopstick wrapper and puts it in his pocket to throw away later rather than simply carelessly tossing it somewhere to the ground. He can see it in how Karma arranges his plate after they finish eating, and how, even earlier in the cinema, he'd been mindful of the mess he was making.

There's no taking away Karma's affinity towards anarchy; it's simply part of who he is, and Nagisa wouldn't know what to do with a Karma who isn't chaos personified anyways, but he still has to give credit where credit is due. Asano is a good influence, and as strange a sentiment that was, there was no denying it. 

It boggles him, a little, and amuses him at the same time how Karma could have ever thought he'd disapprove of them being together, when, for all the jabs Karma makes at how motherly Nagisa can be, Gakushuu Asano is the only person Nagisa knows to have ever successfully instilled these sorts of good habits into Karma.

* * *

**V. Kunugigaoka Academy**

Results are posted outside the classroom on Friday during lunchtime, a week after the exams. There's a crowd of students fidgeting to take a glimpse of the papers posted onto the announcement corkboard in the hallway, but, naturally, the two people at the very center of the crowd are also the two people at the very top of the rankings.

That said, one managed to outrank the other.

"Eat shit, Akabane," Gakushuu says, deploying a tone of voice he reserves only for when he's feeling _particularly_ mean.

Karma scowls, put-off by the neatly printed ' **2.) Akabane, Karma** ' in front of him, but equally so by his boyfriend calling him by his last name, what the fuck? It felt like a whiplash, as thought they were in middle school all over again, and Karma would laugh at that if not for the fact that he lost by _two whole marks_. On the rightmost to his name is the number **487** , right below where Gakushuu's has **489** , and Karma grits his teeth.

"No worries," Gakushuu says to him, high and gleeful with a hint of foreboding egotism that says Karma is in for a lot after this. "You lost an entire 5 marks in Social Studies, but considering the fact that I _perfected_ it, I wouldn't mind tutoring you. My schedule is quite busy though, so you might have to beg me."

There's something to be said about the almost sadistic way Gakushuu delivers this line that makes Karma's skin crawl because _shit_ , that's exactly how Karma would be if he'd come out on top here.

They're kind of soulmates, aren't they? Karma almost wants to puke at how well they match each other.

Still, he takes all of this in stride, because if he learned nothing else from a year being taught by Koro-sensei, it's that defeats must be taken with dignity, because they're just another incentive to get better.

Someone's filming this, surely. At least half of the students in this crowd, Karma is certain, are actually here to gossip. There are likely only 30 or 40% of them here only to see their ranking. He puffs out his chest and straightens his shoulders, and, in the grandest, most showy way he can muster, he says, "Aww, Gakushuu-sama, I'm failing Social Studies so badly. I beg you, please, _please_ , help me out?"

He revels in the look of confused shock Gakushuu is struck with, hearing a few students snicker at his response, but Gakushuu is a professional at dealing with all of Karma's bullshit by now, and he only takes a second to recover, smiling mildly before saying. "Alright, then. How does Saturday at 5PM sound?"

"It's a date," Karma replies without missing a beat, because God knows they've got nothing to study for after exams have just passed by. Gakushuu doesn't often flirt with him in public, but now that he has, there's a wave of "aww"s and "oooh"s and, somewhere around Karma is pretty sure he also hears a faint "Give us a kiss!". He ignores all the buzz in favour of watching Gakushuu's smile widen at his response, and yeah, Karma's totally only being spoiled because Gakushuu's thrilled at his win.

Karma gets a date out of it though, so he at any rate, can't it be argued that he also won? The crowd disperses eventually when the bell rings, everyone heading back to their respective classes. As Karma and Gakushuu walk back, they hold hands, and it's already so domestic anyways so, Karma swiftly kisses Gakushuu on the cheek.

Gakushuu looks surprised for a bit, before he's snapped out of it by Karma's yell of, "Race you to the classroom, lose has to buy the winner food!" Before he starts sprinting to the direction of their next class.

"You _fucking cheater,_ " Gakushuu says, also breaking into a run, and honestly, they'll probably look ridiculous in the CCTV footage that the cameras in the hallway have captured, but surely by now ridiculous has somewhat become their brand, right?

There's going to be a video for now posted in the Kunugigaoka website of the two of them, probably titled something sappy like 'competetive lovebirds' or some shit, but who cares? Right now Karma is content as he reaches the classroom door first, followed only a few seconds after by Gakushuu.

His grin is as shit-eating as ever, and he is absolutely smitten as he looks at Gakushuu's panting form and says, "You're buying me cotton candy later. Thanks in advance, love you."

Gakushuu's looks up at him, eyes glaring violet with only the mildest sort of irritation behind them failing to mask his fondness. He sighs. "You're welcome in advance. I love you, too."

**Author's Note:**

> Wooo!! I hope the writing in this didn't fluctuate too badly? I was really just in the mood for boyfriends taking care of each other, and really... these are just my headcanons in fanfic form. Comments would be much appreciated :DD thank you for reading !!!


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